By Verne Strickland
A serious erosion of support for Mike McIntyre is showing up among opinion leaders in the congressman’s home base – Robeson County.
A notable loss for the Democratic incumbent is Burt E. Benson Jr., 70, of Lumberton.
It is telling that Benson, for years an ardent McIntyre supporter and admirer, is not only jumping ship, but talking publicly about it, and urging others to do the same.
He says his switch to the candidacy of Ilario Pantano, GOP nominee for U.S. Congress in the Seventh Congressional District, is for the sake of his children and grandchildren, and his country.
Benson is a prominent businessman in the area – co-founder and CEO of Benson Construction, Inc., a family owned and operated business launched in 1968. His wife, Jan, also a co-founder, is president of the successful and highly-respected grading, paving and site utility operation serving Southeastern North Carolina. Sons Bucky Benson III and Stephen Benson are on the firm’s executive team as vice presidents.
Benson was asked what effects on his family’s future he sees in the country’s lurch to the political left.
“The erosion of our American values and our business climate are foremost on my mind. I have three children and four grandchildren, and I’m very concerned as a business owner that, when it comes time for me to hand over the reins of our family corporation, the high taxes and federal regulations won’t give them a fair chance to continue on with what we’ve built.”
He emphasized that he is not alone in this predicament. “Every business owner in America, large or small, is facing the same dim future,” he said.
The elder Benson is not one to offer his loyalty and his word lightly. He has a rock-solid sense of responsibility and honor, and it permeates his relationship with his family, his business, his country, and his God.
So he realizes that when he has a public break with a man he has trusted and called his friend, it is a matter which he has given serious consideration.
But even this personal belief system could not deter him from splitting politically with Mike McIntyre.
“I had to do it, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t take a stand,” he explained, almost ruefully.
For years, Mr. Benson has seen Mike McIntyre as a kindred soul. And to this day, Benson says he has a high degree of personal affection for this man who has gone so far in Washington. But it is fair to say that he is deeply disappointed in McIntyre’s actions in the U.S. Congress.
“Early on I served with him on a city committee, and I knew him as a very good Christian, good family-oriented gentleman, industrious and a very good representative when he first went to Congress,” said Benson.
“I didn’t pay too much attention to how he was voting up there. I assumed he was voting conservative, in a way that would be helpful for businesses here, and for the most part he did in the early years.”
But Burt Benson III began to realize that things were not what they seemed, and that U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre, who put on a conservative veneer for the home folks, was betraying them with his loyalties in Washington.
“Recently, we found out, when we got the ratings, Mike is voting with the unions 80 percent of the time, and with Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, over 70 percent of the time. That is not Robeson County. That doesn’t reflect our values at all. They are tilting this country toward socialism.
“If you look deep enough, you’ll see what’s happening to the freedoms and opportunities we’ve had. We’ve seen more burdens on the small businesses than ever. We can’t get people to work, although we offer jobs. We have one of the highest unemployment rates (11.6% May 2010), and are one of the poorest counties in the State. There’s no way we can be proud of that, or tolerant of it,” he observed.
There’s another important reason why Benson has stuck with Mike McIntyre. He has had no other choice. Although he could see that the 14-year incumbent was running off the philosophical rails more frequently, McIntyre did have some seniority, and key positions on committees and subcommittees important to Robeson and the Seventh District. But until a viable candidate came along, turning away from his friend Mike McIntyre was a solution of questionable value.
Until now.
“This is the first time in years we have had a good alternative. Ilario Pantano has his priorities set, he is a patriot, has fought for his country, and he’s a man we can trust and support. When the time comes to say ‘No’ to this outrageous, reckless spending, and all these earmarks, we know that Ilario will get the job done.”
Benson has gotten to know GOP candidate Pantano, and feels this candidate deserves his trust and support. Pantano can win the day, says Benson, if enough voters in the Seventh District get to know him, and perceive his character, moral values, commitment to transparency in government and mission to return America around.
“We know Pantano is the man to carry the banner. He’s a man who has the courage to stand up against the ultra-liberals in Washington. The Democrats are just interested in funding vote-buying programs and trying to get everybody dependent on the government. That way they can count on those votes. But there are more people riding on the wagon now than out there pulling it.
“This has to change. Ilario Pantano will work to change it.”
http://www.uncp.edu/business/research/pdf/July%202010-Volume%206-Number%203.pdf
gop@nc.rr.com
CHECK THIS COLUMN FOR NEWS OF OTHER DEPARTURES BY FORMER McINTYRE FAITHFUL
**Phillip Stephens is chairman of the Robeson County GOP. He writes a hard-hitting blog of his own concentrating on Robeson County politics -- from the inside. See his posts at this Web address: http://www.robesongop.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label Robeson County. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robeson County. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
VOTER TIDE TURNING IN ROBESON COUNTY -- MIKE McINTYRE'S HOME BASE. PANTANO CAMP SURGES IN FORMER DEMOCRATIC STRONGHOLD.
By VERNE STRICKLAND
“We have some of the most excitement in Robeson County since the Civil War,” said Phillip Stephens, chairman of the Robeson County Republican Party.
Tall order. But, judging by how lonely Republicans have been in this Democratic bastion, Stephens could be right. Correct that. He is very right.
“We are the most Democratic County in North Carolina,” he advised. “In size, we are the largest county in the state. And the Republicans are actually excited along with their conservative brethren over in the Democratic Party about the election in November.”
Robeson has a proud history, and a promising future. Formed in 1787, the county took its name from Colonel Thomas Robeson, one of the leaders in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Elizabethtown. During this battle the Tories in the southeastern part of North Carolina were crushed by the patriots.
Home to 14 municipalities, Robeson is one of the most diverse counties in North Carolina, with a true tri-racial population – Native American Indian, African American, and Caucasian.
Stephens, 48, is a resident of Fairmont. He has presided over a resurgence of Republican Party growth and political strength, and is convinced 2010 will be a banner year for the GOP in Robeson County.
“As recent as twenty years ago, over 90 percent of the county was registered Democrat. We have watched them lose a percentage point every year in the past two decades, while the Republicans have been gaining a percentage point, and sometimes two, annually. Independents or unaffiliated voters have been doing even better, registering at a rate of up to two percent a year more than our Republicans.”
The result is that, in Robeson County, Democratic registration has skidded from over 90 percent a couple of decades ago to just over 80 percent this year.
For the first time since the Civil War, Republicans in some precincts are flexing their muscles, confident now that they can rally their base to win elections in the county.
“Pantano has created a unique dynamic in our county,” said Stephens. “What he has brought to the campaign is that – rather than attacking Mike personally – Pantano has said that he understands McIntyre works to maintain what we’ll call a conservative image, and the Congressman is anxious to preserve that image.”
But while Ilario Pantano avoids personal attacks aimed at McIntyre, he considers the Congessman’s voting record and cozy relationship with ultra-liberal Democrats to be fair game. This is where the gloves come off.
“Our candidate wants to show how Mike’s friends in Washington, such as Nancy Pelosi, capitalize on McIntyre’s Democratic credentials in order to facilitate their Socialist agenda. It’s a strategy that resonates with Republican voters in Robeson County,” said Stephens. “Pantano gets traction with that strategy, and it’s working.”
Stephens asserted that the tactic is not negative campaigning, but merely exposing facts about the incumbent congressman and the people with whom he chooses to associate.
“We don’t have any polls,” he said, “but I said months ago that, the very second McIntyre agreed to debate Ilario Pantano, it was an admission that McIntyre’s internal polling was not favorable. In fourteen years we could not get McIntyre to debate because he had no reason to. Our political operatives and our benchmarks tell us that means the Democratic polling numbers aren’t as good as the public thinks.”
He said that Robeson County has not been in a position where conservative Democrats and Republicans would abandon McIntyre, but with a sufficiently credible candidate, the tide has changed.
“Our opposition research shows that McIntyre in the past few weeks has been trying to reach out to Republicans, however I think he realizes now that he will need to concentrate on his own base because Republicans have decided that they are supporting Pantano,” Stephens explained.
Now the GOP in Robeson County knows it can effectively raid McIntyre’s camp to pick up support for Ilario Pantano.
“It’s a whole new ballgame”, he said. “We’re shifting and trying to cross over and get those conservative Democratic voters over to Pantano’s side,” he said.
gop@nc.rr.com
By VERNE STRICKLAND
“We have some of the most excitement in Robeson County since the Civil War,” said Phillip Stephens, chairman of the Robeson County Republican Party.
Tall order. But, judging by how lonely Republicans have been in this Democratic bastion, Stephens could be right. Correct that. He is very right.
“We are the most Democratic County in North Carolina,” he advised. “In size, we are the largest county in the state. And the Republicans are actually excited along with their conservative brethren over in the Democratic Party about the election in November.”
Robeson has a proud history, and a promising future. Formed in 1787, the county took its name from Colonel Thomas Robeson, one of the leaders in the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Elizabethtown. During this battle the Tories in the southeastern part of North Carolina were crushed by the patriots.
Home to 14 municipalities, Robeson is one of the most diverse counties in North Carolina, with a true tri-racial population – Native American Indian, African American, and Caucasian.
Stephens, 48, is a resident of Fairmont. He has presided over a resurgence of Republican Party growth and political strength, and is convinced 2010 will be a banner year for the GOP in Robeson County.
“As recent as twenty years ago, over 90 percent of the county was registered Democrat. We have watched them lose a percentage point every year in the past two decades, while the Republicans have been gaining a percentage point, and sometimes two, annually. Independents or unaffiliated voters have been doing even better, registering at a rate of up to two percent a year more than our Republicans.”
The result is that, in Robeson County, Democratic registration has skidded from over 90 percent a couple of decades ago to just over 80 percent this year.
For the first time since the Civil War, Republicans in some precincts are flexing their muscles, confident now that they can rally their base to win elections in the county.
“Pantano has created a unique dynamic in our county,” said Stephens. “What he has brought to the campaign is that – rather than attacking Mike personally – Pantano has said that he understands McIntyre works to maintain what we’ll call a conservative image, and the Congressman is anxious to preserve that image.”
But while Ilario Pantano avoids personal attacks aimed at McIntyre, he considers the Congessman’s voting record and cozy relationship with ultra-liberal Democrats to be fair game. This is where the gloves come off.
“Our candidate wants to show how Mike’s friends in Washington, such as Nancy Pelosi, capitalize on McIntyre’s Democratic credentials in order to facilitate their Socialist agenda. It’s a strategy that resonates with Republican voters in Robeson County,” said Stephens. “Pantano gets traction with that strategy, and it’s working.”
Stephens asserted that the tactic is not negative campaigning, but merely exposing facts about the incumbent congressman and the people with whom he chooses to associate.
“We don’t have any polls,” he said, “but I said months ago that, the very second McIntyre agreed to debate Ilario Pantano, it was an admission that McIntyre’s internal polling was not favorable. In fourteen years we could not get McIntyre to debate because he had no reason to. Our political operatives and our benchmarks tell us that means the Democratic polling numbers aren’t as good as the public thinks.”
He said that Robeson County has not been in a position where conservative Democrats and Republicans would abandon McIntyre, but with a sufficiently credible candidate, the tide has changed.
“Our opposition research shows that McIntyre in the past few weeks has been trying to reach out to Republicans, however I think he realizes now that he will need to concentrate on his own base because Republicans have decided that they are supporting Pantano,” Stephens explained.
Now the GOP in Robeson County knows it can effectively raid McIntyre’s camp to pick up support for Ilario Pantano.
“It’s a whole new ballgame”, he said. “We’re shifting and trying to cross over and get those conservative Democratic voters over to Pantano’s side,” he said.
gop@nc.rr.com
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